Turning Point
by AuthorSwimmerPoet
Summary: What if Penelope had never agreed to marry Edward? This is based on that concept, and shows how the story might have gone, had she just said no.
1. Chapter 1

"Edward wants to marry you,"

He got down on a knee.

"Are you prepared to walk away from your one chance, our only chance at a normal life?"

Penelope looked back and forth between her mother and the man with the awkward crooked expression that, if you were blind, might have been called a smile. He didn't want to marry her and she had no interest in marrying him.

"Yes,"

Her mother stared a bit bug-eyed. "What?"

"You'll marry me?" Edward sounded like he was choking on the words.

Penelope gave a grimace not unlike Edward's own. "No. I was speaking to my mother. Yes, I'm ready to give away this chance. I'm happy as I am. I have friends now Mother. No matter what you say. You don't know what they think Mother. You can't get in their minds. I don't need to break the curse to be happy anymore."

Jessica gaped.

"So you can put that ugly face away and go home Edward." Penelope didn't mean to be quite so mean about it, but she was anxious for Edward to be gone from her life again. He had been nothing but a nuisance to her, especially since she revealed herself to him.

His face quirked into an expression that wasn't so different from the one he'd worn while proposing to her. He rose angrily to his feet, "Well I won't be coming back to help you with the curse, this was your last chance." He was practically spitting, which was more emotion than she'd known Edward to be capable of having. He stormed out, the door slamming behind him.

Penelope was not disappointed to see him go.

Jessica however could hardly contain her rage. "What were you thinking?" She shrieked angrily.

Penelope was fed up with this too, "Mother!" She retaliated angrily. "I'm old enough to make my own decisions. You can't force me to get married, just so I stop being me! This is my nose, no matter how much you deny it. It's time we started learning how to live with it rather than just trying to wish it away. Maybe Max was right and the curse can never be broken, that doesn't mean I can't be happy the way I am!"

"He was your chance!" Jessica gesticulated angrily at the slammed door. "He could have broken the curse! We could have been rid of that nose forever!"

"I don't love him Mother!" Penelope stomped angrily. "And if you can't understand that, can't understand me, maybe it's time that I moved out." She stared at her mother fiercely daring her to say another word. The rant had left her breathless but it felt good to finally be able to get these things off her chest. She hated constantly being treated like she was still a little girl by her own mother.

Jessica slumped speechless against the wall.

Penelope stalked out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you really leaving?" Jessica sounded almost humble as she asked the question, as she had for about the last week as Penelope had been preparing herself to move out and truly start to make it on her own.

Penelope nodded determindedly. Her mother was not going to cause her to back down, especially now things were so close to being truly in motion. She was anxious to live truly independently, to go to work, to learn the stresses of paying bills; she wanted to experience it all. She was amazed she'd never thought of simply leaving before. So many years wasted, it was time to start catching up with the rest of the world.

She turned and a gave her mother a last, regretful smile as she pushed her way through the door. "Goodbye Mother."

Jessica began to sob.

* * *

"You really moved out?" Annie asked taking another sip from the bottle in her hand. "Cool. Did you need a place to stay for a while? I've got room at my place if you need it."

Penelope smiled. "Thanks for the offer Annie, but I've already been looking into places, I think I've found a nice apartment not too far from here that should work well."

Annie nodded before downing another swig, "Close to the pub an excellent choice. If I could do it again, I would probably pick an apartment by here too. This place is great."

Jack glanced at the two chatting girls and grinned. He always liked hearing praise about his pub, especially from Annie. Penelope suspected the two would make a good couple, but after her long drawn out foray with it, she was not about to start matchmaking even for two friends, it was too painful. Made her think too much of Max and of course the other various heartaches that had ensued, but mostly it made her think of Max, and she preferred to avoid that as much as possible since he had refused her proposal. Not that it had been very easy to actually do so. He would spring into her thoughts at the strangest moments. She couldn't even play chess anymore because of thoughts of him.

"Ready for another drink?" Jack asked setting a new bottle and a fresh mug in front of Annie and Penelope respectively.

"Thanks Jack, you really know how to take care of a girl." Annie tipped her bottle at him.

Penelope grinned into the rim of her glass. She hoped those two figured it out because she was lonely, and still tremenduously hurt over the pain Max had caused her didn't mean that her two best friends couldn't be happy together. Maybe she would have to find a way to coax them together just to get the ball rolling. She didn't want to matchmake, but she just knew those two would be great together.


	3. Chapter 3

Penelope swallowed nervously staring at the large brick building before her. She wanted to teach so badly, but would they like her? Would they want a young women with a pig snout to be teaching their children or would they be too worried about her frightening them? "Only one way to find out." She murmured trying to steel herself for what was coming.

Determinedly, she mounted the steps in front of the school, her shoes making a faint clopping sound. A tremor ran through her hand as she gripped the cool metal handle of the door. Squeezing her eyes shut, somehow feeling more able for it, she pulled the heavy door and stepped inside the school.

She looked around, smiling to see all the pictures and other projects the students had done hanging about on the walls. It was everything she had dreamed a public school would be, back when she was a little girl with her mom taking care of all her schooling. Already she liked this place. She hoped they liked her.

Echoes filled the surprisingly empty hallway as she began walking down. She wasn't entirely sure where the principal's office was but she wished someone were around to ask. _Everybody must be in class right now._ She thought with faint disappointment, but also relief. Maybe it would be best to be interviewed before she saw how the children would react to her strange nose.

Eventually she found her way to some sort of office. Nervously she peeked her head in. A woman, busy with a phone call, barely glanced at her, but gestured to the row of seats lined up against the wall. Penelope nodded, keeping quiet so as not to disturb the call and sat down nervously.

After a few minutes of busy chatter the woman finally hung up. "Yes?" She called from behind her desk.

Penelope sprang to her feet, perhaps too eagerly and went to the desk. "I'm here for an interview; my name is -"

She was cut off by a quick way of the woman's hand. She was almost glaring at Penelope's nose. "No need to say. I'm well aware of who you are, little-miss-nose."

Penelope winced, she wasn't used to people being quite so rude about her cursed features.

"The principal's office is in the back there." The woman gestured at a door Penelope hadn't noticed behind the desk. "She's expecting you."

"Right," Penelope hesitated a moment, "should I go back now then?"

The woman actually glared now, this time meeting Penelope's gaze. "I said she's expecting you didn't I? Were you raised in a cave or something?"

Penelope was taken aback. She'd never been treated so rudely before. She was completely unsure of what would be the best way to react. She stared for a moment, before not saying anything and just scurrying behind the desk and towards the door. She hoped that the principal was more kind. No more how lovely the children's projects looked, she knew she wouldn't want to work at such a place if the principal were so cruel.

Timidly she knocked on the door.

"Come in!" An airy feminine voice called.

Taking a deep breath Penelope stepped into the principal's office.

* * *

"I'm going to be a teacher!" Penelope announced excitedly into the phone.

"Hey that's awesome, I knew you could do it!" Annie praised. "I told you you had nothing to worry about. People love you Penelope."

"Everybody that grouchy secretary." Penelope muttered. She still hadn't quite gotten over how rudely that woman had treated her.

"Secretaries are terrible people," Annie sympathized, though Penelope doubted whether the statement really had much truth for Annie. She hardly ever delivered packages anywhere with a secretary that she'd have to work with. "So what happened in the interview? Did they love you instantly?"

"Not exactly." Penelope answered, thinking back on what had happened once she'd finally gotten to the principal's office. "She was quite hesitant really, said she was only really interviewing me because there were so few candidates. She was quite concerned about my nose. She said that kids have a tendency to be nasty about differences in people. Especially at the age that has the opening for me to teach."

"Nah," Annie interjected. "Kids are just brutally honest which comes off as rude and mean sometimes."

Penelope rolled her eyes and continued as if Annie hadn't said anything. "But of course I expected that kind of resistance. I was really nervous, of course, but I found a way to explain to her, that I thought the kids being mean about my nose might actually be a good thing."

"Oh really how's that?" Annie asked, sounding a little distracted now. She had probably started doing something while on the phone, like making dinner, Annie was notorious for not being able to sit still for long.

"I told her that my nose could actually help the kids to be more accepting the differences in people whether physically or otherwise. She practically gave me the job on the spot after that, she realized that it was a good thing to try and teach kids."

"You rock Penelope! You want to go to Cloverdilly to celebrate?"

Penelope grinned into the phone, sensing perhaps that Annie might have some other motives in that. "Sounds great. When should we meet up?"

"Say half an hour?" Annie asked breezily.

"Sounds perfect, see you then."

"See ya."


End file.
